Dar al Islam - Part 1

The Eastern Wall of the Mosque

Well, folks. Here I am. I've been in New Mexico for almost four days now. It's been an amazing experience intellectually, spiritually and even physically! I haven't felt this all-around healthy in a long time! I'll spare you all the amazing details I'm learning about Islam and just say this: I am well on my way to being an expert on the subject and would be happy to sit down and discuss any aspect of it with anyone when I get home. The purpose of this first blog, though, is just to give you all an idea of the beautiful place where I'm staying. We're on the Dar al Islam property, which is 1600 acres in Abiquiu, New Mexico. The original structure was built to be a Madressa, or school, so it contains classrooms, courtyards, dormintories and a Mosque. It does not serve as a school anymore but rather as a Non-Profit organization devoted to educating teachers and business people about the religion of Islam. As you can probably guess, the goal is to encourage a better understanding of Islam in order to promote peace and effective communication throughout the world. Okay, enough of the details, here are some pics:


Outside:

Inside:

My Bedroom

The hallway outside our bedroom door

Beautiful tile on the Library floor

Library Desk

Lunch in the Courtyard

On Monday night we went to visit Benyamin and Rabia, one of the original thirty families that started Dar al Islam. Now there are only three families living on the property. These two travel all over the Middle East and bring back wares to sell in their "yurt," a Mongolian-type hut where they also invite people in to listen to their stories. We heard some wonderful stories from Benyamin and I bought some artwork from them before we left.

Well, I'm off to another lecture, but I have lots more pictures to post. I might even be able to post some video if I can get my act together. I miss everyone terribly but I'm having a wonderful time. I'll be home on the 20th!